StudioPress Merges Into Copyblogger Media LLC

We’re excited to announce that StudioPress and several other companies are coming together to form Copyblogger Media LLC. This is a new consolidated company led by Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger.

First, let me assure you… it’s business as usual here at StudioPress. Our team, including me, is not going anywhere. StudioPress and Genesis will still be our primary focus, along with the first of many exciting new projects we have planned.

I am one of the owners of this new company, while Nathan will remain as the lead developer of Genesis. We’re very excited about the development community which has surrounded Genesis, and there is so much to look forward to. Craig will continue to handle the business-side of StudioPress, while I will still remain an integral part of the entire project.

As a full-fledged new media company, Copyblogger Media, LLC will have multiple lines of business, including online education and live events. But the thing that caught my attention was Brian’s vision for a suite of software tools, specifically for the WordPress space. As you may know, Brian Clark no longer works with Chris Pearson and Thesis, so there was a missing part.

Genesis (Design Optimization)

With attractive child themes, easy customization for designers and upcoming design controls, Genesis has become the logical choice for design pros and the biggest names in social media alike. Brian Clark and his team began developing on Genesis months ago, so it made a lot of sense to do something bigger together.

Scribe (Content Optimization)

Engaging content makes the difference online, but unless you also spoon feed it to search engines, you don’t benefit from profitable, targeted traffic. Scribe makes SEO simple by providing powerful tools for finding the right keywords, optimizing content for search, and building quality links.

Premise (Conversion Optimization)

Coming soon, Premise completes the online marketing trinity by providing the missing piece of the puzzle – conversion optimization. More details soon, but Premise works with any WordPress theme, and makes getting people to take action easier than ever.

And then there’s the BIG thing we’re all working on together. Sorry, but no hints on that yet…

In Conclusion

I wanted to let you know what’s going on before rumors started floating around. There will be an announcement next week on Copyblogger with more details. You’ll find that this new combined company will allow for better updates to Genesis, more child themes, additional add-on features, and better support.

Thanks to all of you for allowing us to grow to this point and for trusting that we had more to come. You haven’t seen anything yet.

Thanks to both of you for the comments – Brad, I’ve been telling you for months now to stay with your instinct and start creating Genesis child themes. This announcement is pretty significant to you and what you do as well. (in a good way of course)

Well this is big news! As a Thesis designer, I’m disappointed on how the last few months have unfolded. And while I’ll stick with Thesis because it’s what I know, and what has allowed me to build a business around… I am looking forward to getting to know Genesis a little bit better.

Chris – the past few months in the WordPress community haven’t been it’s best. However, Brian (Clark) and I are very excited about this merger – as are the other 3 partners, Sonia, Tony and Sean. We have huge plans to make WordPress an even better platform for our community to use.

You’re right.. the past few months haven’t been great. This should be a interesting partnership, since I use a couple of these products. I look forward to seeing what your creative minds have in the future.

Well, I’m excited about it. It’s nice to see good business people getting partnered up to enhance good products. I’ve toyed with Genesis a bit and look forward to getting more familiar in the near-term.

This is the good move to get full gain of potential customers from Coppybloggers. You will get tsunami of traffic through this source as well and might surpass your other traffic giving resources too. Good Luck to you

That looks to be a powerful combination of WP-related folks. Will StudioPress and the others still exist as a legal separate entity, or are all rights and ownerships being transferred into Copyblogger Media LLC, as per the current footer of this site?

Thanks Gary, and a huge thanks to Darcy for introducing us. I can tell in the few weeks you’ve been around the Genesis community that you’re going to be a huge asset. In fact, some of your code contribution has already been committed into the upcoming version of Genesis. How cool is that?

Thanks Gil – appreciate it. Let’s also make sure we connect to get you an account in the Genesis development site. You’re going to be a key piece in the future with Genesis and the development of child themes. I see big things in your crystal ball as well.

Congratulations! I’m a supporter of both StudioPress and Copyblogger (and get newsletters etc from them) – so am very excited to see what develops with the new company. Have to say I couldn’t have predicted this in a million years but I’m sure you all will continue to do great things. Best wishes. 8))

Oh My God, how exciting! I am in total shock. But I don’t know why. It makes perfect sense. I am so happy for all of you. What an exciting opportunity to move forward for everyone involved. I am a client of both organizations and very happy about this.

Hey Roberto – thanks so much for the comment, and for being a recent member of our community. I can’t answer about the question regarding Scribe’s reseller plan, but I do know they have an affiliate program.

This is awesome Brian! I am so happy for you and your entire team. You deserve the best my friend and we Page.ly folks are honored to support your new endeavor. I’ve only conversed with Brian Clark via email but he seems like a stand up guy. Good things happening to good people. =) Congrats!

Hey Sally – thanks so much, and apologize that our team hasn’t been to the recent WordCamps to hang with you and Josh – family stuff, ya know? Appreciate the kinds words regarding good things and good people. Keep truckig on your end, I can see steam coming from the engine you’ve built.

Brian, you are a true visionary and such a creative entrepreneur. Congrats on aligning with a stellar situation to grow your business. What better way to serve your clients – past, present, future – with more WordPress support through the great (and I mean GR8) theme designs at StudioPress. SO happy for everyone, including the fab team at StudioPress. AWESOME, man!

Hey Debra – thanks – while I think you’re going overboard with your praise, I do appreciate it. I may have founded StudioPress, but it’s my team and the community who has defined it. I’m so proud of all who are involved, and look forward to taking WordPress to higher places.

Minutes have passed. I’ve read this post and it’s comments. My secret is out. If you want an upper hand in today’s digital world, use these products and services in tandem. Congratulations to Gardner, Clark, Jackson and Simone (sounds a little Mad Men-ish). I’m a Third Tribe member, a Scribe SEO user, a Copyblogger reader and a StudioPress Pro-Plus lifer. For me, that means it’s business as usual. Thanks!

Heh, love the Seinfeld analogy. Truly one of the best shows ever made… now as for your comments regarding the products and services, you’re spot on. We want to give our users the best experience online – we want to make it as easy for them to publish their content and to reap the rewards of their efforts.

I noticed the change in the footer yesterday and did wonder what was going on. This is very exciting news. As a technical writer for over 30 years, I entered the ‘wordpress’ world about 1 1/2 years ago to launch a series of Chit Chat Magazine sites. I struggled at first but with help from Studiopress and some heavy ‘bedtime reading’ I ventured into code a bit. Although still a ‘newbie’ I now feel comfortable to finally design my corporate site (after 30 years it is time) as well as some WordPress Website Diva sites focusing on WordPress customization, documentation and training (the latter being more my expertise). I am happy to say that you are focusing on training and tutorials because that was missing a bit when I started and believe this new venture should only help for ‘newbie’ users like myself. The world is exciting ahead for what can be done with powerful software, easy-to-use themes, and great customer support. I look forward to also becoming an affiliate on my Diva and Wordtech site shortly.

Looking forward to seeing what you continue to build, Darlene!
(And remember, you can always PM me or Craig Tuller with tutorial requests, as well as peruse the new Documentation here: http://dev.studiopress.com/)

Brian, now I’m not surprised anymore about what happens around StudioPress. In the last two years I have seen the Revolution become Genesis. And now this. I hope that everything, apart from the obvious business considerations, bring more wellness to you all. I never found such wonderful group of people on the interweb. Ok, you give customers a service, but is clear that you put Passion on what you do. And that’s why you do it in such an incredible way.

Marco – wow, you seem to really have a knack of understanding the situation. Appreciate that – and really appreciate YOUR passion to be involved. I haven’t forgotten about you re: the Genesis development site. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I’m also very thrilled about your intentions with Theme Garden. Can’t wait to see what you do there!

Hey Joe – appreciate your continued support over the years. I’ve seen some really great sites you’ve built and am glad that you’ve been with us for so long. Also very happy to hear that your clients are happy – after all, they pay the bills, right?

Congratulations, Brian! I can’t say that I fully understand what all this means, but I trust that it will be a good thing! I love Genesis and am excited about everything it offers. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for all of you!

I wrote to Sean Jackson about 3 weeks ago, praising StudioPress and suggesting that they get in touch with Brian to possibly arrange running the same excellent Scribe SEO offer that they ran with WooThemes, very briefly, in July – the Advanced package, usually $97 per month, for $27 per month to WooThemes users.

Sean wrote back to me, saying that they were fans of StudioPress too and would be “doing something together very soon”.

I never dreamed that the “something” would be a full-blown merger!

I wish your new company the best of luck, I’m excited about the possibilities, and I sincerely hope that you will celebrate this new union by finally offering that great $27 Scribe SEO offer to StudioPress customers too.

Hey Donnacha – thanks so much, you’ve always been a huge advocate of StudioPress, and have always appreciated the comments you leave on other WordPress blogs regarding our company. It is funny, in life – you gotta be careful what you ask for. Sometimes it just might happen!

This is proof that people like to do business with people they trust and like.

Not only is Genesis well-made (WTG Nathan!), the business end well-run (WTG Craig!) and the forums filled with team members who answer newbie questions (WTG Rebecca, Daisy, et al…) – but Brian and the whole team is always respectful in social media, kind in emails, and just so stinkin’ likable.

The nice factor? Really matters to my business. I feel like the voice of support – an extension of my brand – will be extended in the StudioPress forums.

As a designer, I know I have a choice where to build my themes. The StudioPress team makes that choice easy for me. I’m proud to offer my designs for Genesis.

Having followed Brian since Rev 1, I can see this is a step towards a more corporate or business blogging. Let’s see, are we looking into a ‘copy that sell’ mantra with an optimized landing page variation on a SEO optimized, customized posting WP theme?

Debating whether to write now or not. Feel free to delete before publishing if you wish. However, I’m not so excited about this merger.

WP has proven itself to not be at our pocket books (Vaultpress aside). StudioPress – excellent value for the money/ GPL/ upgrades that keep up with WP for life = all a service that I can put my money behind – plus the value is incredible!

However – the reason this has me hesitating – Business needs to be a balance of meeting an existing need / providing a service and making a living. Scribe – Third Tribe, and Teaching Sells have business practices/ marketing practices that lead me (I’m sure I’m not alone) to believe the primary purpose for their existence is to make money.

Brian Clark? I would be hard pressed to see a problem with his online presence or self-marketing. His content has been a lifeline for me.

So from this small-timer, I’m personally happy for your success. BUT professionally – I hope StudioPress -Genesis specifically remains independent of other ‘tools’.

Cathy, I guess I’m a little confused by your feelings. The people who are part of Teaching Sells and Third Tribe don’t feel the way you do. Perhaps it’s just outside looking in? Or maybe you’re associating us with certain “Internet marketing” types that we actually work hard to steer people away from?

As for Scribe (and the upcoming Premise), they’re tools just like Genesis. And they’re highly complementary of one another. But the latter two do have a business focus, because a lot of business people are frustrated with what they can (and can’t) do with WordPress.

You might not be a person with those concerns. But let’s not belittle and look down at the small business people who drive the economy. We’d all be in trouble without them.

Sounds great man — as one who started designing my own themes…then moved on to Thesis and now working primarily with StudioPress (although my own site, pomomusings.com, still runs off of Thesis), I’m excited to see this move forward….I can’t wait to see what the “big thing” y’all are working on is…

I’m in the “blog” and “wordpress” world since early 1999 / 2000 and I met (online) thousand of successful and very popular people. You, Chris, Brian, Tony and Darren are some of the few I always come back to to learn from (I was in very first group that joined Teaching Sells, too).

Now this new company looks like an “Hall of fame” of people from the Third Tribe: something that one can be happy to work with / buy from.

So with all of you under the same “umbrella” when we will see a whole membership/learning/ system for WP? If it is in your planning well… maybe I should stop the developement of my own tentative

StudioPress is ALL I use….and am a huge advocate! Not just because the themes are amazing, but because of the people here. The integrity & support goes beyond expectation- always.

I’ve been using Scribe for a couple months and ADORE IT! Can’t wait for the linking piece. I also joined Third Tribe when it came out and have found the recordings invaluable….Sonia & Brian do a great job.
Can’t wait to see what the secret project is.
Congratulations Brian & everyone here- your success is well deserved.
Kim

Congrats to you and your team Brian! Couldn’t think of a nicer and more talented group of folks to pull together to offer a “one-stop-shop” professional WordPress community! I’ve followed you since my days back in Chicago and have always promoted your products due to the exemplary quality and support that I’ve yet to see topped elsewhere. I’m very excited about the future of StudioPress and am looking forward to going along for the ride!

Hey Bill – nice to see you drop by here, and also to see you in Third Tribe forums. I appreciate the comments regarding the merge with Copyblogger – Brian and his team, along with the other partners make for a great core group of people to do wonderful things.

What does this mean for the little guys like me who need good looking and fab templates? Sounds a little like it’s all geared towards the business model and SEO clan. I really hope that the template production won’t suffer, I feel it has been … lacking lately. Sorry, not wanting to rain on anyone’s parade. Pray for your continued success.

Sure, no problem tji. The sites I develop are not intended as business models. None of the 7 sites I administer are profit driven or have ads. Granted, proper search indexing and following tried business practices are important. The things that initially prompted me to sign up (Revolution era) were the clean code and the fact that Brian and his team provided the best support in the business. The quantity of themes is not as important as quality and diversity in my opinion. If I have offended anyone my apologies. Brian remains to this day a role model for his ethics and business practices.Sometimes paths diverge.

All good, and no offense taken. Just for clarity, while Scribe and Premise are going to come alongside Genesis in this company, I will personally see to it that quantity of the framework and the child themes will not suffer. I am still in charge here – and nothing will change in that regard.

I remember starting out learning WP a year ago and Copyblogger was one site that I liked. I was disappointed when I saw it was done on Thesis, but stayed with Studiopress because of the great support plus Brian was moving to my hometown…jk….really just for the support. The other products that are coming onboard are very interesting, ie Scribe and Premise. Hopefully there will be a package available that combines all 3.
Nice work Brian

Bill – thanks for the comment, and for hanging with us. As you can see, good things result with those who are patient. Yes, we’ll definitely be working packaging products – after all, they will compliment each other well.

Very interesting news! I had a feeling that something like this might be in the works when Chris Brogan switched to StudioPress and Brian parted ways with Thesis. Brian’s a marketing powerhouse so this should be great news for StudioPress.

Thanks Jay – we assumed that many folks would see Chris and ultimately Brian’s moves to Genesis as a pre-cursor to what was to come. Regardless, we’re very excited to merge our companies together to see what we can do.

It was a “recommendation” from Lisa Sabin-Wilson that led me to originally purchasing Genesis. Considering the messy state of affairs over the last few months, I have been dabbling in Woo for the last several weeks, but I haven’t found everything I was looking for.

After your SEO post a few days ago, I was leaning towards another purchase…

Sorry about missing your comment – what that means is that you will continue to have access to Genesis and all child themes. There’s also a chance it means discounts on the other products – such as Scribe, Premise, etc.

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